Clothes Make The Man
by Song Of Eternity
Summary: L reveals he is self-conscious about his looks, and Light tries to show him with a little help from his blow dryer how goodlooking he can really be. Two-shot, no warnings, no slash.
1. It's All In the Genes

**Hey guys, it's Song! Here's another little drabble for you! This one will probably be a two-shot, perhaps longer, depending on how interested I get. Reviews make me very happy, and constructive criticism is always welcome! Enjoy!**

***************

"…ight?"

"Light?"

"Hmm?" Light Yagami's eyes abruptly refocused as he realized Ryuuzaki was talking to him. "What's wrong, Ryuuzaki?"

"I get the feeling that I should be asking you that, Light. You've been staring at me for the last fifteen minutes. Are you alright?"

Light blushed. "I'm fine. I was just thinking."

"No need to be so secretive Light. I know, you're mad because I'm the only one eating cake."

"No, really, I'm…"

"Here," Ryuuzaki said, pushing his strawberry shortcake at Light forcefully.

"I'm fine, Ryuuzaki. Really."

"I insist. I love sharing."

"Sorry, but I really don't like sweets."

Ryuuzaki stopped abruptly, staring disbelievingly at the auburn haired boy. "You don't like cake?"

"Yes, Ryuuzaki. That would fall under the category of sweets."

"Cookies? Pie? Meringue? Parfait?"

"Those too, Ryuuzaki. Honestly…" Light stopped. Ryuuzaki's eyes were dangerously wide, and he stared intently at Light. He ran his gaze over Light, starting at his hair, and slowly working his way down.

Light blushed. "L..."

"That explains a lot." L interrupted.

Light opened his eyes wide, shocked. What?

"What explains what, Ryuuzaki?"

Ryuuzaki looked mournfully at Light. "It explains why you look how you do."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Light exclaimed.

"Nothing at all, I was merely stating that Light's appearance is impressive because he does not eat sweets."

"It isn't just that, Ryuuzaki. I go to the gym and stuff. My DNA probably helps as well."

"Exactly. I was just ruminating on the fact that Light-kun works extremely hard at maintaining his appearance. So much, in fact, it seems suspicious."

"What?! Ryuuzaki, you can't be serious. I'm suspicious because I like to look nice? You're completely insane."

"Not at all, Light. In fact, the fact that you work so hard at making yourself look perfect is a sign of a desire to cover your faults. It could be something as innocent as an unfortunate mole, or something… much more severe." Ryuuzaki looked hard at Light's face.

Light hurriedly backed away. "Ryuuzaki, knock it off. I do not have a… a mole!" Light looked utterly revolted.

Ryuuzaki chuckled. "It is amusing, Light, that you would latch on to that part of the sentence when I was very clearly suspecting you of being Kira."

"What else is new? For the last time, Ryuuzaki, I am not Kira. And there is no way you can accuse me of being Kira for the simple act of looking nice! As though it were rare for someone to be conscious of their looks! I don't eat sweets because they make me sick, and I go to the gym because I like sports. L, you can't go around suspecting people just because they care about the way they dress. Just because you don't care about your appearance…"

"To the contrary, Light. I do not suspect you solely because of your clothing. As you are well aware, there are several other factors." He said, ignoring the dirty look Light gave him. "As for my appearances, I find no reason to work for endless hours maintaining my appearance, when there is no point."

"What do you mean, there's no point?"

"Light, look around you. It is sad that someone of your intellectual level cannot see it. There is no point in working to look nice, for three reasons. First, a detective does not need to look 'nice' to adequately perform his duties. Second, there is no one here to see me. Why work to look nice if no one will see you? Third…" Ryuuzaki paused a moment. "Even if I worked for hours like you… even if I scrubbed and brushed every day of every week… no matter how many crèmes you rub on me…" L hung his head. "I will never look as good as you. As you said, it is in the genes."

Light looked incredulously at Ryuuzaki. The greatest detective of the world, conqueror of villains, upholder of justice and all that is supposedly good… was self-conscious of his _looks_ of all things?

Ryuuzaki stared hard at the ground, attempting to look nonchalant. He had done it. He had shown weakness to a Kira suspect. It was not a life-threatening weakness, but… L did not like showing weakness of any kind… and knowing Light, he would find some way to turn this against him…"

"I could argue with all of those reasons." Light's voice lightly began.

Ryuuzaki glanced up. "By all means, feel free."

"As for the first one, there IS a reason for a detective to look good. Aiber has to look good to convince his victims that he's genuine. Consider how effective of an interrogator you could be if you could manipulate your suspects like that. Your looks can make you either more or less threatening, depending on how you work it."

"Light-kun seems to have given this a large amount of thought," l stated, but Light just glared at him and kept talking.

"You even tried to make me use my looks to manipulate Misa. What if you could have done it yourself? Knowing how to portray different people can also come in handy when you have to get out of a sticky situation, such as when we had to rescue Matsuda. We dressed like paramedics, remember? It isn't quite the same thing, but you understand the general point there… knowing how to dress well is a useful thing for detective."

L looked like he was about to argue, but Light continued.

"Second, there is always a reason to take pride in your appearance. Dressing professionally makes other people take you seriously. In the Kira case, it isn't such a big deal because we know you are L and how good you are. We have no choice but to cooperate with you. But it won't always be this way. After the Kira investigation, it is entirely possible you will want to get hands-on on a case again. But next time, you may not want them to know you are L. How will you command respect in a group of trained police officers without your intelligence and status as L? You will have to make them believe you are a strong and capable leader. Dressing well would enable you to do that. And I'm sure that Matsuda and the others on this case wouldn't mind if you brushed your hair and put on socks, either." Light paused for breath.

"Admirable logic as always, Light." L interrupted. "There are, of course, a few points I could argue with, but now is not the time. As usual, your reasoning is infallible. He glanced around to make sure no one was around. The others had left a few hours earlier, leaving the two of them to continue working, but L didn't want to risk them walking in at an inopportune moment. "However," he continued. "There remains, the third reason. I am sure you cannot argue this point." He smiled sadly.

"I could."

L's head snapped up.

"I think you could look really good, Ryuuzaki," Light said, "I mean, I don't know if you could look as good as _me_… I've been primping and pruning this hair and skin for _years_… but I think I could definitely, with some work, make you… presentable."

Ryuuzaki stared skeptically at Light. "I highly doubt that, Light."

"I don't," Light frowned, grabbing Ryuuzaki's hand. Without a word, the younger man tugged the detective down the deserted hallway and onto the elevator.

L, who had (strangely) not put up any resistance all the way down the hallway, began to protest. "Light, I don't see any point in this. I do not believe any significant improvement could be made to my appearance, nor do I particularly care that it should be so. I work perfectly efficiently as I look now, and I believe this time would be better spent looking for evidence against Kira." He reached for the control panel to stop the elevator.

Light caught his hand. "And I disagree. We've spent enough time looking for Kira today. I'm tired of talking about Kira, and I think this will be an interesting diversion." He stopped when L frowned at him. "And if you honestly don't care what you look like, what's the danger in letting me have some fun?"

L grimaced. "Very well."

Light grinned.


	2. Bathroom Antics

Light pulled L unceremoniously down another long corridor, around a corner (smacking L's head off a wall in the process) and into a room. "Here we go," L said happily, dumping L's disoriented body onto the bed.

L sat up, tentatively rubbing his head. Wincing, he took a look at the room he now found himself in. White walls, wooden furniture- altogether very neutral. However, looking down, he noticed the bed he was on was rather springy. It was a large bed with luxurious cotton bedding. He ran his hand distractedly over it, noticing the deep green color. It was of high quality, the only burst of color in an otherwise dreary room in a dreary building. Just another one of the many rooms L had ordered built into the investigation building. He hadn't personally chosen the bedclothes, but he liked them. The color was rather nice.

"Light," he began, "Where exactly _are_ we?"

Light grinned, "Just another room you ordered built into the investigation building…" he trailed off.

L's eyes narrowed. It was sometimes uncanny how much alike he and Light thought. Indeed, it was most unsettling. Furthermore, he did not appreciate how Light's voice trailed off at the end of that sentence. Also very unsettling. "And?" he asked, carefully keeping the irritation out of his voice.

"_Well_… it just so happens to be the room I've been sleeping in for the last couple of weeks, so I mean you kind of just might as well call it my room, I guess."

L blinked. "Light has been sleeping here? In _this_ building?"

"Yes…"

"I thought you were going home to sleep."

"Well, the first few nights I did, but I didn't want to worry Mom and Sayu any more than I needed to. I mean, they all stay up until Dad comes home or calls, and Dad goes home much earlier than me, so… I just told them I'd be staying here instead."

"But you neglected to mention the fact to me."

Light grinned. "Must have slipped my mind."

The gears in L's head began turning. Ever since they had moved into the new building, Light had been staying later than the others. L had to admit, the two of the got a lot more work done without the others there to gum up the works. But around two in the morning, without fail, Light would stand up, stretch and say his goodbyes. He would leave the room and disappear into the elevator. L had always assumed he had taken the elevator down to the ground floor and gone home. It seemed, L mused, he was mistaken.

L was angry at himself. He had been slipping- if Light Yagami was Kira, then what was to stop him from creeping up on him in the night and just killing him? L hadn't even known he was in the building. This was a serious security breach. Light had stayed in the building without his knowledge and without any supervision. Granted, it was not likely Light would have just popped out from under his bed and slit his throat. First of all, they both knew L was too alert for that. Second, the fact that L died and Light was the only one who stayed later than the others would put him under suspicion. Third, and most convincing- Light just didn't work like that. If Light Yagami was Kira (and L had little doubt that he was), then Light would not kill him in such a manner. Light would see it as cowardice, as laziness even. No, if Light killed him, it would be in a intelligent manner. It would be something clever, a burst of intelligence that Ryuuzaki hadn't foreseen. Light would see something L had missed, and that would be the end of Ryuuzaki. L looked up at Light. He was in no danger from Light physically. The only way Light would hurt him, was by outsmarting him.

As L had sat ruminating on the springy mattress, Light had been in the adjoining bathroom, pulling bottles off of shelves and digging brushes out of the cupboard. L stared with little interest at what he was doing. He wasn't sure how Light planned on making him "presentable," and he didn't much care. It really couldn't hurt anything. As he said before, Light will not hurt him physically. Being in a room alone with him and scissors and razorblades and clean laundry would not result in his death, however unsettling it may be.

"Come here," Light said from behind the bathroom door. Sighing, L stood and slouched his way into the bathroom.

"What?"

L pointed behind him at the pristine white bathtub. "Wash."

"What?"

Light glared evenly at L. "I am going to make you look nice. The first step is a shower. So go and wash."

L glared back, beginning to have doubts about this entire situation. "Fine," he said, turning away from Light and stripping off his shirt. "Light-kun is lucky I'm bored."

Light stared oddly at the skinny pale flesh of L's back. "L-kun is lucky that I am good at this. Now get in the shower. I'm leaving, but I swear if there is one _inch_ of you that isn't scrubbed clean when you get out, I'll pull you right back in here and wash you myself!"

L raised an eyebrow and began unbuckling his jeans.

Light flushed and spun around to leave. "And don't wash your hair! I'm gonna take good care of that when you get out." With that, he exited the bathroom and slammed the door.

L grinned. Too easy.

*************

When L presented himself to Light, towel hanging loosely around scrawny hips, he was clean. _Very_ clean. He was, in fact, almost pink from the thorough scrubbing he had given himself.

Almost.

It was clear to Light that L hadn't wanted to take any chances on not being clean enough.

Light chuckled. "Good. Now rub these on your skin." He lazily threw two bottles to Ryuuzaki, who barely caught them, his towel dipping dangerously. Light blushed again. "The blue one is for your face, the green is for the rest of your body. And for god's sake put on a robe!"

L scowled at Light before turning and disappearing into the bathroom again.

*************

"Bend over."

"_What!?_"

"Don't what me; I'm going to wash your hair. Bend over the sink."

"No."

"Damn it, L… wait a second… never mind, you're right. A chair would be much better."

L resisted the urge to slap his forehead.

*************

L sat scowling, his head bent as far backward as it would go, as Light tested the water.

"Can Light please hurry up? This position is extremely uncomfortable."

"I'm sorry, but I'm trying to make sure this water doesn't burn you. Do you want your brains scalded out?"

"That is impossible, Light-kun."

"Oh really? No wait, you're probably right. I mean, you've seen how hot Misa makes her showers, right? Look at her, she's a genius. In fact, her water is usually about this temperature exactly… how odd…"

"Please, Light-kun, take all the time you need."

"I thought so."

*************

L was relaxed. Possibly more relaxed than he had been in years. Why wouldn't he be? Despite the strange angle of his head, he was in a state of sleepy bliss as Light's deft fingers massaged shampoo through his thick hair.

"Wow Ryuuzaki, I knew your hair was thick, but this is amazing. Your hair is sucking the shampoo up like a sponge! I've used a quarter bottle of shampoo already!"

L made a noncommittal noise in his throat. He didn't really care how much shampoo Light used, as long as he didn't stop. He was almost asleep.

Light glanced down at the silent L and almost giggled. His eyes were half closed already, and it wouldn't take much longer before Ryuuzaki was out for the count. He smiled. "Fine, but if you use this much of my conditioner, I'm not going to let you use it anymore. This stuff is expensive!"

L yawned, and Light smiled again and began to rinse out the shampoo.

*************

L woke up with a yelp.

Sitting straight up, the ebony haired teen tried to fend off the waterfall of icy water that ran over his head.

"Hold still, Ryuuzaki! I have to get all the conditioner out!"

"No. That water is cold." L said petulantly, wrapping his arms around his skinny frame.

"It's supposed to be, Ryuuzaki! The cold water adds shine to your hair. It's good for your follicles, and it wakes you up. We've got a lot of work to do, and you need to stay awake for it."

"Light-kun?"

"Yes?"

"Why on earth are we doing this?"

Light sighed. "I thought we answered this already, L. You don't like your looks, I'm good at looking good, and we're both bored…"

"No, I mean, why are we doing _this_. It's nearly three in the morning, we're both tired, and once we are done, I fully intend to sleep. There is no point in continuing this tonight, as your efforts will be ruined by my pillow."

Light grinned. "Ah, but that's where you're wrong!"

L grimaced. He hated when Light used that tone of voice. It never meant anything good as far as he was concerned. "I do not understand."

"You will," Light murmured, and began vigorously rubbing a towel over the dripping ebony locks, effectively silencing Ryuuzaki for the many minutes to come.


	3. Posture Perfect

L's eyes snapped open.

This wasn't right. This was not his ceiling and the pillow under his head was much too soft. L sat up and stretched, the forest green blanket sliding down to his waist. Wait… forest green?

L looked around and nearly fell off the bed. There, head tucked into another of the feather-down pillows, was Light. He was asleep on top of the covers, as far away from L as possible. He was actually balancing on the edge of the bed. Thankfully, the bed was huge, so there was considerable space between them. L frowned. He had never woken up with anyone else around, especially not in bed with them… L shook his head. This couldn't be more awkward. He wasn't even sure what Japanese etiquette would prescribe for this situation. He would leave. He would come back later and talk to Light, but he felt it was best if Light did not wake up with him there. Slowly, carefully, L slid over to the edge of the bed and tried to extricate himself from the green comforter.

Light grabbed his wrist. "Oh no, you don't. You aren't escaping. The final and most important phase of the makeover is coming. The others will be here in an hour and a half, and we need every minute of it." L sighed, and went to get in the shower.

After L had showered again, he noticed his hair was lighter than usual. It was actually frizzing a little, though it was still wet. When Light came in, he giggled a little and motioned to the chair in front of the sink. L sank in to it and Light commenced with washing his hair again.

"I made you take a shower yesterday because it was obvious you needed it." Seeing the angry look on L's face, he quickly explained, "Not because you were dirty, Ryuuzaki. You needed a good night's sleep, and to get a good night's sleep you need to be clean and very relaxed. You took a shower in hot water and scrubbed yourself, so you were clean and warm. Then I kept you in the warm bathroom long enough to wash your hair. Not only did it clean and soften your hair fantastically, it put you to sleep really quickly! And the sleep did you a lot of good. The shadows under your eyes are lighter, and your hair is really soft and light right now!"

Ryuuzaki frowned. "So the makeover wasn't even actually happening yesterday? You just made me do all that stuff so I would sleep well and have nice hair in the morning?" he asked incredulously.

"Looking good starts with a good night's sleep and good food, Ryuuzaki. If you don't look healthy, it's impossible to look good." Light began the first rinsing process, washing a large amount of expensive shampoo down the drain. Light scowled. "If you decide to continue this look, you're going to have to buy your own products."

After conditioning and blow-drying L's hair, Light stood for a moment, simply looking at the detective. Nodding once, he left the bathroom, returning with the creams from the day before, along with a pile of clothes. "Put them on," he said, leaving.

L looked down at the clothes and frowned. These definitely weren't his. Sighing, he began to undress.

L walked out of the bathroom, nervously squirming from the unusually well-fitted pants. These had to be Light's clothes, they looked like they were straight from GQ. Light smiled and shoved L back into the bathroom.

Shoving L down on a stool, Light swooped down on his head with a hairbrush and a bottle of hair product. L craned his head to see what the product was, but Light eluded him and continued to rub the stuff in his hair. It smelled sweet.

Really sweet.

A few minutes later, Light looked satisfied at his handiwork. He walked around to the front of L to see the front. "Not ba… L!"

L looked like a kicked puppy as Light yanked the bit of product-covered hair out of L's mouth. "That is not for eating!" L snapped, "And look, you've messed it up!" L frowned as Light forbade him to touch his tasty-smelling hair and fixed the piece L had sucked on.

Light dug in a drawer and began dabbing mascara lightly with a brush. L scowled. "Light, isn't this ocular cosmetic generally used for women?" Light laughed. "Yes, Ryuuzaki. However, despite my best efforts to make you sleep well, you still have shadows under your eyes. It looks unhealthy. But if we put on a little bit of mascara, you'll look like you're going for a sort of punkish look. As long as we don't put too much on, it should work out very masculinely."

L doubted that.

Light checked his watch. Half an hour to go. "Alright L, the appearance part is over, now it's time for carriage." L raised an eyebrow. "Carriage?" he asked.

"Yes, Ryuuzaki. We made you look healthy and neat. That alone has greatly improved your appearance. However, it is impossible to look attractive if you don't look confident. You have to be sure of yourself, and your body language has to reflect it! Now, stand up straight."

L looked incredulously at Light, then sighed and stood, straightening his back. It hurt incredibly; he had been slouching so long, the muscles in his back protested at being stretched the wrong way. Stretching his lumbar muscles, L held the position as best he could.

Light stared. L was tall.

Really tall.

With his characteristic slouch, L came up barely to Light's chin. In fact, Light had gotten used to looking down on him, in more ways than one. Now L was towering over him. He had to be over six foot tall. At barely five-seven, Light actually felt diminutive.

Light shook his head to clear it of all awe-related feelings. No time. Nodding quickly, he continued with the lesson. "Very good. Stand like that today. Don't forget. Now, when you're standing up like that, you can't just look all tense and pained. Relax, without slouching, and maybe cock your hip a little. not that much, Ryuuzaki, now you look like a girl. Just a little, enough to say 'Whatever, I don't care.'"

Light looked with approval at the changes that he had set in motion. Not only was L now tall and relaxed, he looked positively charismatic! Light looked L over again, making the taller man blush. It was good all right. But there was something missing…

Light's head snapped up. "Ryuuzaki, one more thing…" he paused.

L raised an eyebrow. "Yes, Light?"

"Smile as often as appropriate. Smiling makes people feel safe, at ease. It shows you aren't angry or annoyed with them. If you smile, people will think you care and are interested in them. This just as important as the hair or the clothes or the posture, so don't forget."

Tentatively, L pulled his lips up into what could only be classified as a shy smirk.

Light grinned evilly. This was perfect.

"Alright, Ryuuzaki. Time to unveil you to the world."


	4. A Rousing Success

**Here it is guys, the long-awaited unveiling of L's new look! I'm planning on drawing a fanart to illustrate exactly how this looks, but I'm confident that my descriptive abilities will suffice for now. However, if any of you would like to draw a fan art, please do! I've never had any fanart but I've always wanted some!**

**Also, to whoever sent me that extremely sweet review on the Lonely Sea, I love you. No seriously, I do. I'm not sure you understand how much it means to me that my story touched someone that deeply. I only wish you hadn't reviewed anonymously so I could thank you properly! But hopefully you'll get this anyway.**

**Disclaimer: Who exactly do I think I'm kidding? The day I own death note is the day that Light wears knickerbockers in public and L decides to live with me permanently!!!**

**On with the story!!!**

**************

Ryuuzaki peered nervously around the corner again, wringing his hands fitfully. No one was there. In fact, the others weren't due to show up for another few moments. In fact, Yagami-san should be approaching in three… two…

The door slowly opened and closed as a drowsy Soichiro wandered in, cup of coffee clutched in his weary hands. L pulled back into the shadows of the hallway.

"Light, I don't know if this is a good idea…" L began hesitantly.

Light rolled his eyes. "Come on, Ryuuzaki. Don't tell me the three greatest detectives in the world are all nervous!"

Ryuuzaki bit his lip. "Well technically, it is just one great detective; the others are all alia…"

"Ryuuzaki," Light interrupted.

"Yes, Light?"

"Shut up."

Ryuuzaki slouched unhappily against the wall. How on earth was this going to work? He had looked the same for twenty years. In fact, he bet he had worn a white shirt and jeans as an infant. Hmmm. And he bet he toddled around all slunched over, and he sat hunched in the most adorable manner and…

He was pulled out of his musings by a tug on his hair. "Ow, Light. Stop that."

"Your hair is defying the laws of physics, Ryuuzaki! It needs more gel."

"It's fi…" Ryuuzaki was silenced by the plop of goop onto his cranium. Rolling his eyes, L let Light's deft hands massage the goop into his unruly frizz while he watched Matsuda and Aizawa make their way into the investigation room, yawning widely.

"What if it doesn't work, Light?"

"What are you talking about, Ryuuzaki? Of course it will work. We're both geniuses, and I'm practically a professional when it comes to looking good. What could go wrong? You look fine."

It was true. L looked fantastic. His skin was pearly white and smooth because of Light's moisturizers. His hair was manageable but buoyant, and as Light ran his hands through it, he marveled at the silky softness. It fell gracefully over L's thin forehead and down his straight thin shoulders. His eyes had lost the unhealthy sheen that was so predominant in insomniacs, giving way to a healthier, even more intense look. This intensity was brought out nicely by the hint of mascara Light had applied and made more dramatic by the shards of silver that lurked within L's obsidian eyes.

His frame was slim, but completely upright for once, and the slightly cocky stance Light had taught him highlighted the slimness of his hips and the muscles in his slender legs. He wore a pair of tight, perfectly ironed slacks and dress shoes, as well as a long sleeved dress shirt (also rather tight) that elongated his slim, strong abdomen. The sleeves were rolled up to pale, perfectly-moisturized elbows, and the top button was undone, giving the whole outfit the air of someone slightly disheveled but still extremely sharp. Everything in the outfit was black, save the pure, angel-white tie. All in all, Light acknowledged… L was hot.

And clueless.

"I do not doubt your abilities, Light-kun," the hot, albeit clueless detective babbled on. "But what if I mess it up? There is a seventy-one percent chance that I will go out there and look fine, but still manage to be utterly ridiculous."

"For once in my life, Ryuuzaki, I'm going to disagree with your statistics. Now look at me."

Ryuuzaki reluctantly glanced over to the younger boy. Light reached out and carefully wiped some stray mascara from the corner of L's eye. The small motion did not help L's nerves any, but Light suddenly looked into his eyes, and L found himself calming down. Why was this boy's gaze so entrancing? Tawny gold, with just a tint of warm red… impossible eyes. Not even L, with all his genius, could describe the miracle of genetics that created those eyes. It should have been impossible, since both Light's parents had dark brown, almost black eyes. But here was their wondrous offspring, with eyes like honeyed amber. L felt his heart rate slowing, his mind calming under Light's gaze.

Light blinked, tearing his eyes away from the abyss-like obsidian of the detective's stare. "It's going to be fine. What could happen? You'll offend Aizawa and his afro? Or will Matsuda be disappointed that you didn't buy a pair of his unfortunate brown shoes? None of these people are perfect, Ryuuzaki. They won't judge you."

Ryuuzaki shook his head a little, coming out of his trance. "I suppose not. But will you?"

"What?" Light turned his head to glare at L. "What on earth are you talking about Ryuuzaki?"

"How would you judge me? Am I…how did you put it… presentable?" Ryuuzaki quickly stood as Light had shown him, back straight, hip cocked, smirk in place. "What do you think?"

Light ran his eyes over L's slim form and flushed. His pants really did look good on Ryuuzaki. "You'll do. Now get out there before I shove you out there myself." With that, he strolled nonchalantly into the room and sat at his computer.

L steeled himself, taking one final deep breath before walking out into the fray.

*********

"Good morning," L said dully as he walked into the room. Looking dubiously at his new (tighter) pants, he wondered how on earth he was going to sit down. After a moment, he decided on a frontal approach. He sat sedately in the chair and began to bring his feet up to rest on the…

"Psst!" L glanced over. Light shook his head, gesturing to his own body. Light's back was relaxed but straight, leaning back in his chair, and the ankle of one leg lay comfortable on the knee of the other. He was, as usual, picturesque. Ryuuzaki glared daggers at him before attempting to copy his posture.

Hmmm…

Awkward, but not horrible. Perhaps sometimes he would sit like this… not everyday, but on days when his full reasoning power was not strictly necessary…

"Holy crap, Ryuuzaki!"

L sighed, before turning his head an inch to the left. "What is it, Matsuda?" Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Light shaking his head. Sighing, L spun the chair all the way around and graced Matsuda with a smile. "What is it, Matsuda?" he said with a poisonous grin. In his peripheral, he saw Light smack his forehead.

Matsuda stood, drawing the attention of the other task force members. "Ryuuzaki, you… you…"

"Yes, Matsuda?"

Soichiro, whose eyes had been slightly widened, cut in. "You look very nice today, Ryuuzaki-san."

Ryuuzaki looked over at Light's father and nodded. "Why thank you, Yagami-san."

He looked back to Matsuda. "Light and I decided that today I should endeavor to look …nice. Do you like it?" he asked, cocking his hip and giving his best shy smile.

Matsuda fainted, his nosebleed staining the tiles of the investigation room.

Soichiro sighed and turned back to his computer. Mogi (who had been ignoring the incident thus far) glanced up and gave L a slow nod of approval before returning to his screen. Aizawa rolled his eyes before leaning back slightly in his chair and dumping his coffee on Matsuda's head, waking the unconscious boy up in an unpleasantly abrupt manner.

L smiled a little and looked over at Light, who had a triumphant gleam in his eye and a smile on his face. Running another appreciative glance over L's frame, he gave the older detective the thumbs up.

FIN

**Thanks for reading, folks! As a music education major, I don't have a huge amount of time to spend on here, but I always make time somehow! Review if you want, and if you have any story ideas that you don't want or would like me to write, I'd be glad to have them! I'm also available for beta-ing, so just message me or send me the info in a review!!! Hope you enjoyed it! Thanks Again! -Song**


	5. FANART NOTICE!

**Hey guys! I know the story is finished, but I had to give you guys a link to my first-ever fanart!!! YAY!!! Its by the everlastingly fantastic Pandora Darkspell, and its fantastic! This is a pic of L in his newly made over state, and I must say it turned out very nicely! Of course, I'm still open to other fanart, and not just for this story! I would love to encourage you to read any of my other stuff, and I would love to see any fanart that you might produce from it! Don't worry about me not liking it, I'm very open minded about the way my scenes read to others. Different people will always see different things in their head than the author did: its just a fact of writing! So please send links to your fanart! Here's the address for the first one (just remove the spaces), and I'll keep updating this page as others come in:**

**http:// invisibleinnocence. deviantart. com /art/First-Impressions-158602435**

**Here are some more that my awesome readers drew! They are also really good, I guess I shouldn't be surprised that the FFN people are so creative!**

**Anonymous reader NG did this tasteful number:**

**http:// i187. photobucket .com ?t=1269984538**

**Also, I'd like to thank Meep for his/her excellent review. I'm sad when people leave anonymous revies because I can't thank them properly, but just know that it was touching. It really motivates me when you guys show you care! Thanks, Meep.**

**Thanks again everyone!**

**Song out!**


	6. Challenge!

Hey guys! Sorry to spam your Notification things like this, but I just want everyone to check this out!

I made a new Death Note writing challenge, and I just wanted to give my readers a first-dibs opportunity to get at it, as well as giving the thread a little boost on the forums list (you guys are great writers AND great advertising! Whodathunkit?)

Anyway, Your challenge is to write a L*Light story based on a plotline that YOU DON'T MAKE UP. Its given to you by a random plotline generator. Wait wait, don't close the browser window yet, its actually not dumb.

It's an exercise to put you out of your comfort zone, to stretch your abilities. Isn't that what a challenge is all about? I want each and every one of you to at least attempt this challenge. It's a great way to improve your skills.

At least give it a shot. For the full requirements, as well as to tell me you're participating, go to forum,fanfiction,net/forum/Death_Note_Writing_Challenges/75103/

(just replace the commas with periods and add a http and you're all set!)

That page is actually my forum for all death note writing challenges, so if you want to post a challenge of your own, please be my guest! The more posts and topics, the higher my forum and challenge will get, which means more people will see it! So post away!

Thanks so much! You guys are great readers and I can't wait to read some of the great stuff you'll write! Hurry hurry to the site above!)

Good Luck!


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